“The Mystery Surrounding Our Divinity”

Sermon Delivered By Rev. Dick Stetler – July 17, 2016

Centenary United Methodist Church

Psalm 82; John 10:31-42

 

    This morning we are going discuss what Jesus meant when he repeated an ancient Scripture, "You are gods."  Have we ever dared to think of ourselves as having the identity that Jesus assigned to us? A common answer might be, "Are you kidding?  Of course not!"  Among the reasons we would hesitate to accept such a designation is how most of us define God.

    Our exposure to God's nature has come from the Scriptures, Sunday school teachers, preachers and our own insights.  What often lingers more than what Jesus taught is the male image of God found in the Old Testament.  Within those pages, God was identified as being moody and judgmental as well as a being that made demands for obedience to a lot of rules.

    As we examine our lesson today, what inspired the bitterness and anger from average citizens were these words from Jesus, "The Father and I are one." (John 10:30)  This created an absolute outrage. In the minds of his listeners, God's sacred nature had been violated by a mere human being.  Their common mindset held court.  Jesus was guilty.  Death was their verdict and they began picking up stones to silence him forever.  Fortunately, Jesus got away.

    When we follow Jesus' life and teachings, obedience to rules was replaced by a willingness of a person's spirit to reflect the qualities of God.  Many of these qualities were listed some years later by the Apostle Paul, "The Spirit produces love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, humility and self-control." (Galatians 5:22) 

    What would it mean for our identities if we could exhibit these qualities every day?  The truth is that each of us can display these attitudes of spirit because we know about them.  Others may not.  To demonstrate them authentically, we have to own our divinity as the natural, innate ability available to everyone. 

    All the miracles found in Scripture no longer surface in our lives because people have stopped assuming that everything that happens in our daily experiences is an act of God.  No more plagues and floods, no more ending wars because God has sided with the winner, no more protecting a chosen ethnic population as God's chosen people, and no more crucifixions being necessary to heal the planet.  

    By claiming his own divinity as well as ours, Jesus was starting a revolution with his invitation, "If you wish to follow me, you must remove your ego from the stage of your lives and learn to see the opportunities in serving others." (Matthew 16:24) 

    Most professions are doing that today. While each person may not identify his or her motivation as coming from their divinity, they are nevertheless using their imaginations that are energized from this infinite source of creativity.  Such people have changed the rules of living.  Religious beliefs no longer inhibit people from thinking beyond all the well-established horizons and boundaries.

    This is what Jesus wanted his listeners to understand.  They had become so steeped in their faith-tradition that they could only hear blaspheme from Jesus instead of the opportunity to reflect God's nature. Jesus realized that all he could do was sow seeds of what egoless-love looks like and trust that his words would fall on fertile soil so that they could continue their growth in the minds of future generations.  Jesus wanted people to be like God.  (Matthew 4:48)

    What would being like God mean to the living of our lives?  Most of us would feel more comfortable referring to ourselves as angels-in-the-flesh or spirit-beings.  Any reference to our divinity may appear to us as being too large an assumption, yet who else was Jesus referring to when he said, "Become the yeast among the other ingredients for a loaf of bread." (Matthew 13:33) or when he called his listeners, "God's sons and daughters"?  (Matthew 5:9)

    It may help us to speculate whether what we know about God's nature has come from the human imagination of ancient authors or from our own experiences from living our faith.  (Luke 17:21)    

    It took the earth 4.5 billion years before our planet was capable of sustaining complex forms of life.  God's ways of creating are painstakingly slow by human standards.  Think of how patient God is with each one of us if we cannot awaken to the gigantic potential that lies within our authentic identity. Nevertheless, Jesus taught, "Follow me, seek and find."

    Our creator does not take responsibility for the unfolding of anyone's life. God put a healthy dose of divinity into each person.  Jesus could only point to the attitudes of spirit that hold our peace while the tides of disharmony and chaos are everywhere.  He said, "Follow me."

    Human history unfolds without any external divine intervention.  Loving, creative energy allows for anything to happen in our physical environment.  Cultures rise and disappear.  Species exist and then become extinct. Land masses catastrophically collide and then separate.  Jesus provided humanity with a road map of attitudes to navigate successfully through all circumstances.  During all the heartrending experiences that seem to be our new normal every week, Jesus said, "Follow my lead."

    For each of us life becomes exactly what we decide it is.   At the end of our journey, each of us returns to the spirit-realm from which we came.  This cycle of our birth and death requires nothing from us; it happens automatically.  However, the quality of our experiences will depend on the spirit we brought to each potential crisis.  Jesus gave his listeners an example of how to bring our divinity into every episode of living.

    On December 22, 2001 a drama was taking place in a rural hospital in Appleton, South Carolina.  Lying in the intensive care unit was a four-year-old girl whose rare cardiac condition was decaying with each passing hour.  Most children born with this congenital defect die within their first year.

    Knowing that highly specialized surgery was required, the medical staff at Appleton contacted every major medical center for a local referral.  All of them had the same recommendation, "Have her medevaced immediately to Children’s Hospital in Boston!" Little Sarah was too critically ill to transport anywhere.

    Her mom, dad and the family’s pastor sat by her bedside waiting for the end to come.  They were not praying for a miracle.  Instead, they were thanking God for the four wonderful years they had with her and for God's presence during this emotionally fragile time in their lives.  Everyone experienced an energy which they could not define that filled the room.

    Down the hall from the ICU was the birthing center of the hospital.  A woman had just delivered a healthy son two hours earlier in the afternoon.  The new mother's brother and his wife had just arrived in time for the birth and had planned to celebrate Christmas with the family. As her brother was getting a drink from the water fountain in the outer hall, he overheard two physicians discussing the impending death of a little girl.  He became intrigued and asked about her.

    After explaining the rare cardiac defect of the girl, one doctor said, "The surgeon who wrote the book on the corrective procedure is unavailable.  Everyone we contacted wanted us to medevac her to Boston." The stranger said, "Are you talking about Peter Clemenson at Children's?" They said, "Why, yes!  Do know him?"  He said, "I am Peter Clemenson.  My nephew's birth two hours ago is why we are here." The two doctors looked at each other with the expression of, "What are the odds of this?"

    Clemenson said, "If you can take care of the protocols for your hospital, allow me to review her slides and assemble a surgical team, maybe we can give this family a lasting Christmas present." 

    When three doctors entered Sarah’s ICU cubicle and told those gathered what they were going to do, the emotions of Sarah's parents and the pastor were overwhelming. Dr. Clemenson sat on Sarah's bed, took her hand and said, "Honey, my name is Peter and I am going to put a big Band-Aid on your heart.  Is that okay with you?" She nodded her head and said, "Thank you."

    News of Dr. Clemenson’s presence spread throughout the hospital.  A number of physicians gathered to assist on the surgical team or to watch as a master performed the procedure.  The successful surgery was long and tedious because the hospital lacked the technology available at Boston. Today, Sarah Ann Cummings is a college sophomore.  She is planning to attend medical school.

    We could ask, "What are the odds of all of this coming together because a stranger to the hospital paused at a drinking fountain and overheard two doctors talking?"  Was all this coincidence? Was this God?  Dare we ask, "Could this have occurred because the divinity of Sarah's parents surfaced in this form?"  Dare we say that this event unfolded when two fearless spirits knew without question that everything was going to work out?           

    Jesus said that we have God within us.  To manifest God requires getting our needy egos and fears out of the way and learning that creative love has no boundaries that limit what we can do.  To most people, this sounds a lot like wishful thinking.  To a few practitioners, they know what the power within them can create.

    Remember Jesus' words, "Greater things than these will you do." (John 14:12)  In our lifetime, miracles are becoming visible from everywhere.  Consider the da Vinci's minimally invasive robotic surgery for patients needing a cardiac by-pass procedure.  Consider instant communication with anyone anywhere in the world.  Consider that soon cancer and Alzheimer's will be history.

    We do not have to think about the major miracles that are highly visible.  Think of the grandmother who is rearing three grandchildren that we are currently supporting with our monthly food collection.  Think how each of us during our lifetime has influenced countless people because of how we manifested our divinity in their presence.

    Paul wrote, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."  (Phil. 4:13)  God wired us to do great things as we serve one another.  Without any need for recognition, God creates in ways that are quite invisible.  Jesus called us to do the same.  (Matthew 6:3f)